


To Fall For a Fox

by miracu_ace



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Mentioned Alya Césaire and Nino Lahiffe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 21:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miracu_ace/pseuds/miracu_ace
Summary: Marinette braces herself to make amends with Lila, struggling with idea of befriending someone with a grudge against Ladybug.  However, despite her intentions, things don't develop as intended between the two.





	1. Chapter 1

Note: Special thanks to https://knight-of-walpurgis.tumblr.com/ for being an amazing beta and http://caprette.tumblr.com/ for making this beautiful piece for my story!

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Normally, Lila made sure to sneak out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. Eager to avoid attention and get away from judging stares of her fellow classmates.

However, this time she was halted when her history book slipped out of her bag after trying to jerk it off the floor. By the time the book was securely placed in her bag, someone was standing in her way.

Lila’s lip curled instinctively as she rose to meet the gaze of her would-be adversary. She expected the blonde, Chloe, but she wasn’t sure what to think when she met a different pair of blue eyes. The snarl left her lips as she stared blankly before her.

Moving a bit robotically, Marinette brought her hand up and extended it to Lila. Her eyes were resolute, but they hesitated when Lila’s hand didn’t rise to meet hers.

“I don’t think we’ve met yet. My name’s Marinette, welcome to Collège Françoise Dupont.” Marinette gave her warmest smile and waited expectantly for Lila’s response.

Lila chose to respond with a quirk of her brow as she sized Marinette up, waiting for the other shoe to fall. After all, the second Marinette spoke the entire class gave the two their full attention. She expected a trick; maybe her bickering with Chloe was a ruse, and this girl wanted to embarrass her more than she already was.

With a simple tsk, Lila moved roughly past Marinette, nearly sending her into Rose’s empty seat. With heavy footsteps, Lila made her way down the stairs, holding her nose high as she passed the rest of the class. Lila hoped their little interaction would send a message to the rest of the class to leave her be.

“You okay, girl?” Alya called as soon as Lila was out the door.

Before Marinette had a chance to register Lila’s actions, Alya was standing next to her with her hand resting reassuringly on her shoulder. Alya tried to hide her displeasure with a sympathetic look.

“Tch, even Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng should have known better than to interact with that Ladybug hater.” Chloe scoffed, earning a nod from Sabrina.

Alya turned a scowl in Chloe’s direction as Chloe and Sabrina made their way out of the classroom with the rest of the students. A handful of them cast sympathetic looks toward Marinette, but even Adrien and Rose appeared skeptical. The two doubted that anything good would come from Marinette’s attempt with Lila.

“You got this, dude.” Nino mouthed, giving her a thumbs up as he slipped out the door behind Adrien.

Marinette waited until the rest of the class had left before turning to Alya for a response.

“I’m alright”, Marinette grinned sheepishly, keeping her gaze away from Alya, “I just need a minute alone.”

“Whatever you say.”

Tikki waited only a moment after the door closed behind Alya before she came zooming out of Marinette’s purse. The red kwami paused mere inches away from Marinette’s face.

“That was a good effort today, Marinette.” Tikki smiled, much more pleased with Lila’s reaction than Marinette.

“Effort? At this rate, I’ll never be able to make amends with Lila.” A pout slowly eased its ways across Marinette’s lips. “I just can’t stop thinking of what she said to me after Chat and I defeated her akumatized form. I don’t think we’re capable of being friends.”

“Maybe Ladybug can’t be friends with Lila, but there’s no reason that Marinette can’t at least make her feel more welcome.”

With a well-meaning smile, Tikki nuzzled up against Marinette’s cheek before zooming back into her purse.

“Now let’s head home and figure out a game plan!” Tikki encouraged, her head peeking out.

Marinette’s only response was a soft sigh as she made her way out of the classroom.

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In the corner of the courtyard, Lila found herself sitting alone once again. Which was exactly how she preferred to spend her lunch, away from the prying eyes of her classmates. In a place where she could watch them, or rather, where she could keep an eye on Marinette. In between bites of her sandwich, Lila peered out from beneath her bangs to make sure she was left alone. She had survived half the day so far with only a few sideways glances from Marinette and a questioning gaze from Alya.

“Hi Lila.” Marinette’s soft voice nearly caused Lila to jump out of her seat. “I didn’t mean to disturb your lunch, but I wanted to give you this.”

Lila’s scowl barely reached her eyes before she caught sight of the large pink box in Marinette’s outreached hands. Her eyes quickly went wide as she slowly reached out to take the box.

A part of her wanted to knock it onto the ground. She wanted to think the box was a trick and that by knocking it over, she might finally scare Marinette off. However, the sweet aroma of macarons that escaped the box had her thinking otherwise. If the box were a trick, Marinette was definitely dedicated.

Lila looked from the box to Marinette, her face fixed in a neutral expression. One that quickly faltered at the genuine, shy smile on Marinette’s face. A smile that, to Lila’s surprise, even reached her bluebelle eyes and brought a warm feeling to Lila’s cheeks.

“I hope you like them.”

Without another word, Marinette turned and made her way back to a watchful Alya. She tried to keep her pace natural, but the excitement of having made progress, no matter how small, made her want to go running to Alya.

“Girl, you may have gone a little overboard on the pastries. I mean, come on, you gave her an entire box of macarons.” Alya remarked, a wry grin on her lips. “A box of macarons isn’t going to change her attitude.”

“I’m just hoping she has a sweet tooth.” Marinette said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Marinette felt a pleasant sensation rise up in her chest as she watched Lila from the corner of her eye. Even if Lila didn’t open the box to try one, Marinette still noticed just how carefully Lila slid the box into her bag. Which was quite an ordeal given that Lila’s bag was already filled with textbooks. An embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks as she noticed the edge of the pink box poking out of Lila’s bag.

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Marinette sat chatting with Alya and her eyes trained on the door. Waiting expectantly for a certain blonde ray of sunshine to enter the room and send her heart racing.

In the midst of Marinette staring dreamy-eyed at the door, she accidently found herself staring directly at Lila as she entered the room. Upon realizing that the two were making direct eye contact, Lila made to stare down at the floor as she rushed quickly to her seat. However, a moment of hesitation caused Lila to stop next to Marinette’s seat.

“Thank you for the macarons,” Lila finally spoke up, looking a tad uncomfortable, “but what’s your deal?”

The question threw Marinette off guard for a moment, even though she’d been waiting for it. Even Alya was surprised it had taken Lila this long to ask.

“I know you had a rough first day here, so I wanted to make sure you felt welcome.”

“I was akumatized on my first day here.” Lila nearly growled, eyes darting to the corner of the room.

“They don’t dislike you because you were akumatized. Heck, half the school has been akumatized by now” Alya jumped in, her hand resting reassuringly on Marinette’s shoulder. “If anything, the rest of the school doesn’t know how to respond to your strong dislike towards Ladybug. That and most of them don’t know when you’re telling the truth.”

Lila’s eyes darkened at the mention of Ladybug, and she balled her hand into a fist. The action was not lost on Marinette, who felt a surge of guilt rise in her chest. Her hand strayed to her purse, and she prepared herself to hear Lila tell them just how much she hated Ladybug. How much Lila hated her.

“I’m not trying to change your mind about Ladybug. We’re all entitled to our opinions,” Marinette said slowly, trying to think her words through carefully, “but I would like to change your mind about lying. At least to show you that you don’t need to lie to make friends.”

She felt a wave of reassurance as she felt Tikki rubbing her hand faintly through the fabric of her purse. Reassurance that grew as Alya gripped her shoulder tight for a moment.

“Look, you’ve already seen how stubborn my girl can be.” Alya grinned, pulling Marinette into a side hug, “and to be honest, I like finding out the truth. So consider this your second chance.”

There was a playful look in Alya’s eyes with a smile that said she wouldn’t be backing down.

For a moment, Lila wanted to say something to get them to leave her alone. Anything that might protect her from any more embarrassment. She wanted to lie to them, but the words died on her lips when she looked at Marinette. Before she had seemed was nervous, but now those blue eyes looked so excited. Like some unattainable goal was within reach. Was her friendship really worth that much to Marinette? Lila’s face softened at the thought.

“Fine.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Rather than wait for their response, Lila made her way up the stairs to her seat. She tried to keep her face neutral, but her lips curled into a ghost of smile.

“Nice job, Marinette,” came a not so quiet whisper from the back of the room.

Blinking, Marinette turned to find Rose giving one of her biggest grins, while Juleka gave a thumbs up from their respective seats.

“I didn't even notice them.” Lila mumbled to herself as she buried her burning face in her hands.

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“So, what do you guys normally talk about?” Lila asked, looking between the two girls.

Much to the surprise of Marinette and Alya, Lila had been quick to make herself at home as soon as the girls had made their way up to Marinette’s room. She was quicker to claim the rolling pink chair, which she was currently straddling backwards with her head resting on her hands over the back.

“Well, normally I gush about Ladybug by now,” Alya casually responded, leaning against Marinette with a mischievous look, “but we can talk about crushes. You know, girl talk and all. I’m sure Marinette wants to gush about a certain blonde model.”

Marinette gave Alya a look as her cheeks tinted pink. Without a second thought, Marinette leaned away from Alya and nearly caused her to fall off the chaise.

“Crushes?”

The word came out barely above a whisper, and Lila’s cheeks started to burn a bright red. A red that rivaled the shade of Ladybug’s suit.

“Oh, I forgot you were totally making some moves on Adrien on your first day. Looks like you two like the same boy.” Alya grinned, wiggly her brow at Marinette.

“I do have a crush,” Lila confessed keeping her eyes focused on the view from the window. “However, it’s not on Adrien. Not anymore, at least.”

The name was still bitter on her tongue, and she couldn’t help but make a sour face. Marinette felt a wave of relief wash over her at the idea of Lila losing interest. Alya, on the other hand, was suddenly leaning forward with all her attention focused on Lila. She had no issues with Marinette’s undying love for Adrien, but she was excited to learn about someone else’s crush.

Lila’s calm demeanor shifted to one of discomfort. This wasn’t the kind of reaction she had exactly expected. She’d been a student long enough to know Marinette liked Adrien, a lot. So her reaction was no surprise, the confession was meant as a peace offering. Some truth that might put Marinette at ease with her new friend. Alya, however, was a different story.

“What does he look like? What’s his name? Is he from another class? Have you talked to them? You gotta give me the details, girl.” Alya’s face lit up.

“Well, I’ve been talking to them a little in the locker room before class.” Lila explained, feeling a bit frazzled. “Dark hair pulled back into a ponytail most of the time. Um, their eyes are kind of hazel colored.”

“Oooh, a guy with a ponytail.” Alya mused aloud. “Of course, I don’t think I would ask you describe anyone to a sketch artist at this rate.”

It certainly wasn’t the best description of a crush that Marinette had heard, but she was surprised she had never seen this mystery guy talking to Lila before. She’d been watching Lila long enough, trying to find the right time to approach her. Remembering a guy with a ponytail should have been a giveaway, but there was only one person Marinette could think of that she had seen speaking with Lila that looked anything like that.

“Ceyla?”

The name came out louder than she meant, almost like an accusation. She knew she was right when the rest of Lila’s face lit up a deep crimson. Even her ears were red. It was kind of cute to see. Marinette couldn’t help the grin that escaped her lips.

“Ceyla? Ceyla DuBois? The girl with midnight long, flowing hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes a soft hazel that just invites you to take a closer look.” Alya grinned like a fox. “Why didn’t you just say so?”

“Oh my god, Alya, please stop.” Lila whined, currently sliding lower to hide her face.

“I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out sooner, you guys always look so cute together.” Marinette remarked, hands squishing her cheeks as she grinned.

Unbeknownst to either girl, Lila managed to grab a hold of a forgotten pillow on the floor. A quick flick of her wrist sent the pillow sailing and managed to hit both girls before falling limp next to the chaise. They both gave Lila a look of surprise before falling into a fit of giggles.

“You must have had added strength as Volpina because that was pretty weak.”

Lila merely stuck her tongue in response to Alya’s comment.

“Serious question though, how do you go from crushing on the resident sunshine boy to crushing on a free spirited girl like Ceyla?” Alya questioned, shifting herself into a more comfortable position on the chaise.

With all eyes on her, Lila made a face. She hadn’t expected the conversation to go down this route, at least not this quickly. Alya certainly was more perceptive when the conversation wasn’t about Ladybug.

“Look, Adrien’s cute, but I only flirted with him because he was the most popular person as school, besides Chloe. Even I could tell she wasn’t someone I wanted to be friends with. In hindsight, I see that befriending Adrien would have made a lot of girls jealous and make my chances of dating pretty difficult.”

She purposely didn’t mention his infatuation with Ladybug and why it bothered her so much. They didn’t need to know about her crush on the superheroine. Former crush after the way Ladybug had treated her.

“You should ask her out.”

Lila’s heart skipped a beat, and she was left staring wide-eyed at Marinette. With a sudden burst of energy, Marinette hopped off the chaise and in front of Lila.

“I can be your wingman,” Marinette added, clasping Lila’s hands in her own.

“Why?” Lila gave Marinette a skeptical look.

“Because we’re friends.”

Marinette’s genuine smile returned to her lips, and her eyes lit up.

“And that’s exactly what this particular friend does.” Alya grinned, giving Marinette a look.

“I’ve never.”

“Kim when he tried to ask out Chloe and myself when Nino and you were at the zoo.” Alya interrupted with a satisfied smirk, her chin resting in the palm of her hand.

Marinette made to say something in response before closing her mouth and turning back to face Lila.

“Okay, so maybe I’ve gotten a little excited in the past, but this time, I’m going to do it right.”


	2. Chapter 2

Alya found herself staring in bewilderment when she walked into the school the next morning. The sound of laughter was the first thing that caught her attention. It didn’t take her long to find the source of it. Standing above her, Alya could see Marinette standing close to Lila, Marinette’s hand resting on Lila’s shoulder, while the two were chatting with Ceyla. Seeing the three of them laughing together, Alya had to admit she was surprised by the progress Marinette appeared to have already made.

Marinette turned her head briefly towards Alya before turning back to Ceyla to say something. Marinette gave Lila a visible squeeze on her shoulder before waving with her free hand and departing from the duo. She descended the stairs quickly and gave Alya the biggest grin as they met.

“Dang girl, you work fast.”

The remark earned a laugh from Marinette.

“I wish that were all me. I hadn’t realized how much progress Lila had already made until she introduced me to Ceyla. All Lila needed from me was a confidence boost,” Marinette explained.

Faster than Marinette had managed, Alya noticed Lila racing down the stairs. The girl was practically flying as she continued full force towards Alya and Marinette. Alya felt a growing sense of concern, unable to see Lila’s expression. Marinette noticed Alya’s shift in attention and turned her head in time to notice Lila, but not soon enough to react.

“Uwah!” Marinette cried as Lila jumped into her.

“Oh my gosh, she said yes!” Lila grinned, wrapping her arms tightly around Marinette.

Marinette’s eyes grew at the realization, and she felt the edge of her lip quirk into a grin. The expression quickly turned into mild panic as Marinette’s felt her foot go out from under her, sending the pair falling. Instinctively, Marinette gripped Lila tighter and waited for the heavy ground below.

“Woah.” A familiar voice sounded from behind as a pair of arms pushed Marinette forward.

The two girls were still holding each other tightly when they both looked to find who had caught them. To their surprise, Adrien stood with his hands resting firmly on Marinette’s shoulders. Marinette whipped her head back around, a growing warmth spreading to her cheeks.

Lila had expected Alya, had hoped beyond reason when she heard his voice. Her mood darkened when she saw green eyes looking back at her.

“Are you two alright?” Adrien asked, his grip slowly releasing Marinette’s shoulders.

“We’re fine.” Lila replied icily, jumping in before Marinette could react.

The smile on Adrien’s lips slipped into a slight frown as he gave Lila a confused look. Lila’s grip around Marinette shifted until her arms were no longer wrapped tightly around Marinette. Instead, she had managed to slip her hand into one of Marinette’s.

“See you in class, Alya,” Lila called over her shoulder, dragging a disoriented Marinette close behind her.

“I wouldn’t take it personally, Adrien,” Alya remarked, eyeing the pair of girls as they ducked into the classroom. “She doesn’t like to look vulnerable in front of people.”

She turned her head in time to see Nino and Adrien with matching looks of confusion. Alya wasn’t surprised nor did she feel like cluing them in. They didn’t need to worry about the dusting of pink covering Lila’s cheeks when she disentangled herself from Marinette. Now, Alya was beginning to understand why Lila let Marinette in so quickly.

“I’m just glad Marinette was able to get through to her. I could tell it’s really been bugging her how distant Lila is with everyone in class.” Nino remarked, fiddling with his headphones.

“Speaking of bugging people,” Adrien cut in with a pointed look directed at Nino, “Nino had a question for you.”

“Oh?” Alya turned expectantly, giving Nino her undivided attention.

“I do?” Nino mumbled, his cheeks burning.

Adrien gave Nino a slow nod.

“Oh right.” Nino swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. “Do you want to go?”

“Go?” Alya echoed, her excitement settling to confusion.

“To class, if we don’t go now we’ll be late!”

“Uh, right. I’ll see you guys in class then.”

Alya looked awkwardly between the two before making her way past them. Her thoughts were drawn away from Nino’s deer in headlights expression when she walked into the classroom. Her attention shifted to Chloe and she didn’t know what to make of the look on Chloe’s face as she stood confidently by the teacher’s desk. At least Chloe’s pleased demeanor didn’t appear to be focused on the misery of any student, not yet anyway.

The warning bell chimed as she slid next to Marinette, her bag thumping to the ground. The two shared questioning glances until Madame Bustier drew the attention of the class.

“So I have some exciting news. Mayor Bourgeosis has kindly offered to fund a school-wide dance celebration at the behest of your fellow student, Chloe. Planning is already underway, and the event will take place a month from Friday,” Madame Bustier explained excitedly, gesturing to Chloe as she spoke.

“Which just so happens to be Chloe’s 15th birthday,” Marinette muttered under her breath to Alya.

“And most importantly,” Chloe added with a satisfied grin, eyeing Marinette sharply, “You have to come with a date. It’s more fun that way.”

An echo of groans filled the room.

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“I’d hurry up if I were you, girl. Otherwise, you might lose Adrien to Chloe.” Alya remarked, eyeing the blonde as she draped herself over Adrien.

“But Alya, I thought we could go together as friends,” Marinette pleaded, mimicking Chloe’s actions as she clung to Alya.

“Nope, you’re not allowed to chicken out of this one,” Alya smirked, freeing herself from Marinette’s grip.

Edging away from Marinette’s reach, Alya sidled next to Lila and lazily draped her arms around Lila’s shoulders.

“Besides, I’m playing back-up for Lila. Since she actually went and asked her crush out. You should take a page from her book.”

Marinette allowed her shoulder to droop forward in response, the pout never leaving her lips.

“What are we going to wear?” Lila interrupted, looking to Alya and away from Marinette’s distracting pout.

“I can make something for each of us to wear,” Marinette sprung up, suddenly filled with energy.

In a flash, her notebook was out of her bag and resting in her arm. With her free hand, she brought a pencil out and prepared herself to sketch an idea.

“You really think you have time to make three dresses from scratch on such short notice?” Alya questioned with a quirk of her brow.

“Well, we can all pick out dresses and I can modify them to give us all something unique to wear. That way they stay cheap, and I would have time to finish all three.”

Lila slipped out from Alya’s loose grip and over to Marinette’s side. Inching closer until she was able to clearly watch Marinette sketch a basic figure.

“I once met Dolce and Gabbana while my family was staying at our summer home in Amalfi Coast,” Lila jumped in eagerly, a pleased grin on her lips.

Alya and Marinette turned to each other, sharing a knowing look. The two then turned simultaneously to look at Lila.

“Okay,” Lila corrected, diverting her gaze from the pair, "so I saw their boat while we stayed at a hotel for the holiday weekend."

An embarrassed blush covered her cheeks as she tugged gently on one of the braided strands of her hair. She nearly jumped when Alya gave her a reassuring pat on the back.

“Getting better, that’s progress. You don’t have to lie to impress,” Alya explained with a playful wink, “although, you may have to take Marinette to the Amalfi Coast so she can gawk at the boat next time.”

“I mean, who wouldn’t love an excuse to spend some time by the water in Italy?” Marinette added, giving Alya a playful jab with her elbow.

 

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Standing alone in front of Le Peloton Cafe, Lila absently fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. She was early by a mere five minutes, but that didn’t calm the butterflies dancing in her stomach. Pulling out her phone, she glanced down at the last text she had received. A simple good luck and smiling emoji from Marinette. Enough to remind her to take a deep breath.

“Oh, you’re early.” Lila looked up at the sound of Ceyla’s voice.

“You look nice.” Lila shyly smiled, slipping her phone back into her pocket.

For a second, Ceyla’s expression seemed to hesitate to Lila, like she was second guessing the comment. Quickly, though, Ceyla’s expression turned soft, and she gave Lila a comforting smile.

“I think your outfit looks cute. Foxes are absolutely adorable and orange is totally your color.” Ceyla complemented, giving Lila’s outfit a onceover.

“Thanks Ceyla. Um, should we go in?” Lila asked, gesturing to the cafe behind them.

Ceyla responded with a nod and grabbed Lila’s hand as she walked up to the entrance.

The door swung open wide with a distinct jingle and the smell of fresh baked goods filled the air. Offhandedly, Lila was reminded of the familiar scent of Marinette’s bakery. As the pair made their way to the glass displays, Lila kept expecting Marinette’s parents to greet them.

“Can I help you?” A young woman asked, using her apron to wipe powdered sugar off her hands.

“I would like an espresso. What about you, Lila?” Ceyla answered, turning to look at Lila.

Lila quickly glanced along the display until she found what she was looking for.

“Do you have any lemon filled croissants?”

“I’m sorry, we only have chocolate, will that be okay?”

“They probably wouldn’t be as good as they were in Italy anyway.” Lila remarked dryly, “I’ll just have an espresso too.”

Ceyla’s lips quirked into an amused smirk. The woman turned her back to them as she prepared their beverages.

“How much will that be?” Ceyla asked, fishing through her purse.

“Five euros.” The woman called back without turning to face them.

When she turned back around, Ceyla noticed the forced smile hiding her displeasure. With practiced ease, the woman placed the two espressos on the counter.

Ceyla dropped five one-euro coins on the counter before swiftly grabbing an espresso in each hand and leading Lila to an empty table. Lila followed confidently behind, sliding into the booth seat opposite to Ceyla. Lila accepted the offered cup and softly blew to cool the beverage.

“So what do you think of Ladybug?”

The sudden question caught Lila in the middle of sipping her espresso. She nearly choked on her drink and had to clear her throat before answering.

“Excuse me?”

“What do you think of Ladybug? I mean, I know everyone says you don’t like her, but is that really the case? I don’t see how anyone couldn’t have a celebrity crush on her.” Ceyla explained, resting her chin in her hands. “You could totally not like her and still find her attractive, right?”

Lila blinked; there was no mistaking the genuine look Ceyla was giving her. Her hazel eyes were filled with curiosity. Lila felt the familiar buzz of attention, but she didn’t like where the topic was going.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d rather not talk about Ladybug.” Lila replied, her mood visibly darkening. ”I’d rather we get to know each other better.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that you actually got to meet Ladybug. Everyone wants to meet her, even if it means getting turned into an akuma.”

“Look, I’d rather just talk about something else!” Lila practically shouted, slamming her hand on the table.

There was a crash and Lila glanced to the empty espresso cups, fearing that she had knocked them to the ground. Only they had hadn’t moved. Her eyes flew up and made contact with Ceyla’s wide-eyed stare. They turned in sync to find another customer staring with their hand covering their mouth by one of the windows, the remains of a cup laying at her feet.

Lila watched in utter surprise as the street filled with white smoke. It wasn’t until a gust of wind blew through that Lila realized the smoke was actually paint. Paint that now covered anything and everything that was outside. She noted how everyone outside looked like statues as they stood motionless beneath the paint.

“It’s an akuma!” Ceyla exclaimed with what seemed to Lila to be an undertone of glee as she pointed outside.

With an even louder crash, a form landed on one of the painted cars trapped outside. The akuma’s outfit was entirely black and adorned with a splattering of various neon colors. There was a splotch of red paint on his eyes just above the respirator mask that covered his nose and mouth. His hair was blown back like a paint can had exploded in his face. The sight was almost humorous to Lila, especially with the overly large spray paint cans strapped to each side. His expression, however, looked anything but funny.

“My name is Graffiti, and all of Paris will soon learn to appreciate my art or else become it!” Graffiti called from the street.

“I’ve never seen one this close before.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t get any closer.” Lila muttered, slowly peeling her eyes away from Graffiti.

Lila nearly fell out of her seat when she caught sight of Ceyla running around to the front door of the cafe. She was certainly fast, even in heeled sandals. Without a second thought, Lila hopped out of the booth and out the front door after her date, skirt flaring as she ran. The jingle of the door sounding faintly in the air.

For Ceyla’s part, she was at least aware enough of her surroundings to stay behind vehicles as she watched the akuma. It also helped that his eyes were trained on the sky, waiting for the arrival of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“What are you doing? This isn’t safe.” Lila hissed into Ceyla’s ear.

“I just wanted to get a better look. I’ve only ever seen them on the Ladyblog or TV. Plus, this guy looks pretty harmless. Like that bird guy that just controlled pigeons.”

Lila glanced from Ceyla to the people standing around them covered in paint. Clearly, this akuma wasn’t as harmless as Ceyla insisted. These weren’t just illusions, after all.

“You got your look, now let’s go back inside. Chat Noir will come along and take care of him and then we can safely go back to our date.” Lila insisted, tugging at Ceyla’s sleeve.

“Ladybug.”

The response was both unexpected and a lot louder than Lila would have liked. She turned to find Ceyla giving her a serious look.

“Ladybug will take care of the akuma. She’s the one that cures them.”

Lila simply nodded in response, anything to get Ceyla to move back inside. Unfortunately, the girl didn’t budge. Lila turned to look at the akuma, but he seemed to have turned his attention to the buildings across from them.

He spun a can of paint in his hand before spraying the wall with purple paint. Rather than spreading through the air before, this time the paint came out in a stream as the akuma drew a large butterfly. Upon finishing, he spun the can of paint once more in the air and turned around in one fluid motion. His eyes staring where Lila and Ceyla were hiding.

“You’re two aren’t so quiet, are you?” There was a playful smirk on his lips and his eyes lit up, a neon orange color.

“We need to move, now!” Lila shouted, tugging harder at Ceyla’s arm.

All at once, everything began to move in slow motion for Lila. She watched with wide eyes as the akuma pressed the tab of the spray can and began releasing green paint. While the paint began to fill the air, Lila lost her grip on Ceyla and went sprawling backwards. She wondered as she fell which came first: the ground or the paint. Either way, she closed her eyes and covered her face with her arms. She flinched when something bumped her from behind. Something too soft to be the ground. Something that was also moving in the opposite direction she was.

The sudden force of colliding with another body knocked the wind out of Lila’s lungs as an arm wrapped around her waist. She barely noticed the blur of a red suit, instead watching as the ground grew farther away. When she finally broke her gaze away from the ground, Lila looked up to see who had grabbed her. Much to her surprise, Lila found herself staring at Ladybug.

And then she realized what Ceyla had been wanting when she ran into the street after the akuma. The sight of Ladybug up close and in action. Even Lila couldn’t hide the feeling of awe seeing Ladybug in her element, confidently swinging high in the air during an akuma attack.

“You should be safe up here, Lila.” Ladybug spoke, landing softly on a rooftop.

Lila quickly broke away from Ladybugs grip, suddenly annoyed by how concerned Ladybug sounded. She nearly tripped, but righted herself before Ladybug could react.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Lila remarked bitterly, turning away from Ladybug.

Ladybug’s eyes softened, but she kept her distance. Ladybug opted to look Lila over from a distance, checking to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

“Oh, you got some paint on the back of your skirt.” The comment was out before Ladybug could think better of it.

Lila happily took advantage. She whipped around, arms crossed and a snarl on her lips. There was no reason, she reminded herself, to be in awe of someone like Ladybug. She didn’t expect the sigh that escaped Ladybug lips or the look in her eyes. A look that reminded her too much of how Marinette used to look at her.

“I want to make it up to you.”

“It’s just a skirt.” Lila snapped, her words lacking the venom she had intended. “I don’t want any help from you.”

“No, I meant before. I truly am sorry about what happened.”

They were just words, like Lila’s lies. They didn’t mean anything more. Lila was content with disliking Ladybug; she didn’t need her to be popular anymore. She had Marinette and Alya. She wasn’t quite sure what to say of Ceyla.

“My a-paw-logies if I interrupted anything, m’lady.” Chat spoke, appearing suddenly from the other end of the rooftop with Ceyla.

Lila watched the displeased look on Ceyla’s face melt as she caught sight of Ladybug. Lila would have happily switched saviors. At least Chat had a cool costume and didn’t embarrass her.

“No worries, Chat,” Ladybug replied, “besides, we have an akuma to take care of.”

By the time Ceyla had reached Lila, Ladybug and Chat Noir had already turned back to the green-coated street.

“So what did the two of you talk about?”

Her words were curious, but the look Ceyla gave her had more to say. This date wasn’t going how Lila had planned at all. Without responding to Ceyla, Lila turned her attention to the ensuing battle below.

As soon as Ladybug’s feet touched the ground, she pushed off into a backflip narrowly dodging a stream of pink paint. Chat shot out in front of her as another spray began, twirling his baton and sending the paint spraying out to the sides.

“I’ve got your back.” Chat winked, bringing his baton to his side when the attack subsided.

Chat made to twirl his baton, eyebrows creasing as he realized his baton wasn’t budging from his grip.

“It seems I’ve found myself in a sticky situation.” Chat commented, failing to shake the baton from his hand.

“Give me your miraculous, Ladybug and Chat Noir.” The akuma called, charging towards the pair.

“We need to find where the akuma is hiding.” Ladybug yelled to Chat, eyes roaming over Graffiti’s outfit.

“Maybe it’s the mask?” Chat called back, lifting himself into the air with his baton.

Ladybug dodged to the side, rolling away as Graffiti swung his spray can around. A stream of paint shot out over Ladybug’s head as she braced herself against a light post.

“Lucky charm!” Ladybug called, sending her yoyo high into the air.

A short flash of pink covered the yoyo. Falling into her waiting hands, Ladybug caught a small red and black spotted stick of gum. She felt the familiar confusion of a new charm. Ladybug looked around; clearly, there was a trick to this.

Ladybug caught Chat’s eye just before popping the gum into her mouth. She made a show of chewing it and looking to Graffiti as he sent another stream of paint their way. Without needing to see his response, Ladybug went into motion.

“Cataclysm!” Chat shouted, free hand growing black.

He moved straight into a charge, catching Graffiti unprepared. The akuma dodged to the side, bringing one spray can up to Chat’s face. Before he could press the tab, Chat knocked the can out of Graffiti’s hand with his baton. Ladybug slipped behind them, sticking the wad of chewed gum over the hole in the second can. As Graffiti brought up the second can to defend himself, Chat scratched the strap of Graffiti's mask with his Cataclysm. Graffiti smacked the tab of the other spray can, a bubble forming on the end as it filled with paint. The paint exploded in his face with a final smack on the tab. Chat ducked once more, catching the mask in his free hand.

“Here you go, m’lady.” Chat tossed the respirator to Ladybug.

Ladybug caught the mask with a flourish and snapped it in half. She breathed a sigh of relief as a dark butterfly flew out.

“No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!” Ladybug swung her yoyo high in the air, catching the akuma before it could slip away. “Bye bye little butterfly.”

Lila watched in amazement as the akuma was purified and Graffiti was returned back to normal. She could hear the spotted heroine call Miraculous Ladybug. The lucky charm dispersed into thousands of ladybugs and Lila barely noticed as some of the ladybugs carried her and Ceyla safely back to the ground. A swarm flew over the street, removing paint and freeing the civilians trapped beneath it.

“Pound it!” Ladybug and Chat Noir called in unison, giving one another a fist bump.

“That was amazing!” Ceyla exclaimed the second her feet touched the ground.

Ceyla was already running over to Ladybug, without even glancing at Lila. Ladybug, however, made a point to give Lila a sympathetic look. One that only made Lila feel more frustrated. Before Lila could leave the scene, Ladybug broke away from the growing crowd.

“Are you okay?” Ladybug asked, resting her hand lightly on Lila’s shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Lila grumbled, knocking Ladybug’s hand away, “but you kind of ruined my date.”

Ladybug paused at the hard look in Lila’s eyes.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Lila.” Ladybug’s eyes softened and she drew her hand back.

Before either of them could respond, a beeping sound interrupted their conversation.

“Sounds like it's time for us to make our leave, m’lady.” Chat called, grabbing Ladybug by the arm as he moved away from the crowd.

Offering little resistance, Ladybug gave in and followed after Chat. Chat swung high into the air with his baton, Ladybug following on her yoyo.


	3. Chapter 3

The first time her phone buzzed against the edge of her desk, Marinette’s nose was buried in her notebook. A sudden wave of inspiration had struck her, and she felt the design finally coming together. She didn’t stop until the third buzz sent her phone clattering to the floor. Her lips narrowed in displeasure and she leaned carefully to pick up her phone.

“Hello?” Marinette answered, twirling the green colored pencil in her free hand.

There was a long pause, and Marinette readied her finger to cancel the call, wondering if it were a simple wrong number. The sniffle on the other end froze her finger. Marinette eyed the caller id to prove her suspicions.

“Lila, is everything ok?” Marinette spoke, calmer this time.

“She broke up with me,” Lila whispered back in between sniffles.

Marinette’s eyes widened, and she dropped the pencil to the ground.

“Ceyla?”

An immediate wave of regret filled Marinette’s stomach as Lila answered with a muffled sob.

“Don’t worry Lila, I’ll be right over.”

Marinette didn’t give Lila chance to respond before she unceremoniously tossed her phone onto the chaise. For a moment, Tikki gave Marinette a questioning look, but before she could ask what was going on, Marinette’s voice interrupted her.

“Tikki, spots on!”

The room grew bright as a pink light washed over Marinette. As the lights dimmed, Ladybug stood and tossed the notebook onto the chaise, obscuring her phone. Her eyes strayed to the green colored sketch and softened. With a deep breath, she prepared herself before climbing up the ladder and out the trap door in her room. Once outside, Ladybug sent her yoyo flying across the sky. Hooking onto a nearby building, Ladybug jumped with practiced ease and went flying through the Paris night.

In a matter of minutes, the Hôtel de Crillon came into Ladybug’s view. It was only an afterthought that sent Ladybug flying past the hotel. Her eyes trailed behind, wondering absently which window belonged to Lila. Three blocks down, Ladybug swung into a narrow alley and disappeared in a flash of pink. Marinette came running out, pigtails bouncing as she ran to the hotel’s entrance.

A second later, Tikki came flying out. The little kwami gave Marinette a concerned look as she flew close behind. With a quick burst of speed, Tikki dove into one of Marinette’s pockets.

The doorman caught sight of Marinette when she was only a half block away. Their eyes met as she neared, and she noticed how they widened with recognition and confusion. She ignored his curious stare and took advantage of his hesitation to quickly slip inside the open door of the hotel. She gave him a half-hearted wave before heading straight for the stairs. The elevators would take too long for her patience, and Marinette couldn’t imagine standing still as the elevator slowly rose. She needed to be winded when she reached Lila. She needed to look like she had just run all the way here. More importantly, she needed to be there for Lila.

A feeling of reassurance washed over Marinette as the right floor number came into view. With a couple more steps, Marinette reached the door and pushed it open. She walked into an empty hallway and moved slowly to catch her breath while scanning for Lila’s room. Her movements became faster when she realized she was halfway down the hallway already. Lila’s door came into view, and Marinette knocked loudly before leaning down on her knees.

She was in between pants when the door slowly creaked open. Lila stared with puffy red eyes, looking bewildered at the sight of Marinette in front of her. Lila made to open her mouth and paused as her lips began to tremble. That was all Marinette needed to see before acting.

Marinette straightened her posture and moved forward to wrap her arms tightly around Lila’s shoulders. Lila’s eyes widened and tensed against Marinette’s grip. In seconds, her walls fell away, and Lila found herself balling her eyes out into Marinette’s shoulder.

With slow and careful movements, Marinette guided Lila farther into her room, managing to kick the door shut with her foot once she was inside. Never once loosening her grip around Lila, afraid that Lila might fall apart if she did.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Marinette finally asked, face turning serious.

Slowly and with great care, Marinette released Lila from the tight embraced and took a step back. Never once breaking contact with the disheveled girl. Lila diverted her gaze, but pulled Marinette over to her bed. Lila slid up against the headboard, legs pulled close to her chest. Marinette positioned herself on the edge and pulled a box of tissues off the nightstand for Lila. Marinette’s free hand laying lightly over top of Lila’s.

“We were texting earlier, Ceyla and I. I could tell something was bothering her. I thought it was just about the date Ladybug ruined. She was telling me to calm down and then she called me Lilar.” Lila’s lips turned into a frown, and her eyes darkened.

Lila paused for a second to hug her knees tighter, pulling her hand out from underneath Marinette’s. In response, Marinette scooted closer and reached out to hold both of Lila’s hands, carefully unraveling Lila’s hands from her legs. Marinette’s gaze softened when Lila finally looked up at her, feeling her chest ache at the sight of Lila’s puffy, red eyes. With a small smile, Marinette gave Lila’s hands a reassuring squeeze.

“Go on.”

“She said it was an accident, and that she had heard it from some kids at school. I already knew her friends were calling me that. They’d been pressuring her to break up with me because of how much I openly admit to hating Ladybug.” Lila paused for a second, fighting to keep her emotions at bay. “I asked her why she was dating me if her friends didn’t like us dating. I don’t know what I had expected her to say; maybe that she liked me despite the fact?”

“What did she say?”

“Curiosity.”

A punch to the gut. That’s what Marinette imagined Lila felt when she heard those words. It was the same feeling she felt now for pushing Lila to ask Ceyla out in the first place. Maybe if she hadn’t pressured her so much. Maybe if Ladybug had stopped the akuma sooner.

With unexpected strength, Marinette surprised Lila by pulling her away from the headboard and back into her tight embrace.

“I’m sorry,” Marinette whispered softly.

“You don’t need to be, Marinette, you didn’t do anything,” Lila replied, resting her head on Marinette’s shoulder. “Plus, I’m not really upset with her for breaking up with me. It’s not like I had time to fall in love with her; we’d only been dating for a short while. But, that also doesn’t stop her words from hurting.”

Her words were punctuated as another round of sobs wracked through her body.

Unfortunately for Marinette, there was no lucky charm to fix this problem. She was already doing the best she could.

“I can’t believe you ran all the way here,” Lila mumbled into Marinette’s shoulder after a while.

“Of course, what are friends for?” Marinette answered.

“You didn’t let me finish,” Lila added, her tone almost a soft giggle. “I can’t believe you ran all the way here in your pajamas.”

Marinette caught sight of the corner of Lila’s lip as they turned up into a ghost of a grin. Her cheeks blushed as she noticed, from the corner of her eyes, the light pink sweats covering her legs.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m not sure what to do, Alya. Lila’s pretty devastated right now and thanks to Ceyla, she doesn’t have a date,” Marinette explained to Alya over the phone, fidgeting in her desk chair.

“Ah ah, girl. You’re not getting out of asking Adrien to the dance. Like I said before, I’ll take Lila to the dance. Problem solved.” Alya called from the other end. “She’ll be excited to go once she sees that dress you’ve been working so hard on for her.”

From the corner of her eye, Marinette peered at the dress Alya was referring to. On the pale dress form, the dress wasn’t done justice. Granted, the light green of the dress wasn’t meant to stand out on its own, but rather draw attention to Lila’s olive green eyes.

While the interaction with Graffiti had been counterproductive in mending Lila’s relation with Ladybug, the akuma had given Marinette the inspiration she’d been needing to design Lila’s dress. A little wayward green paint was all it took. Looking it over, Marinette still needed to put the final touches on it, of course, but she would need Lila for that.

A strange noise from Alya’s side of the phone drew Marinette’s attention away from the dress.

“Something wrong?”

“Nino just sent me a text, he wants to talk. I think this might be about the party.”

There’s a shift in her tone that Marinette can’t help, but notice.

“Go ahead and take it, I’ll wait.” Marinette interjects.

“Alright, I call you back in a sec.”

Barely a minute had passed before Marinette’s phone buzzed with Alya’s name lit up on the screen.

“That was fast, so what did Nino want?”

“He wants to go to the dance together. As a date.” Alya replied, clearly conflicted. “I kind of hung up on him as soon as he asked.”

Marinette’s lips cracked into a grin at the thought of Nino’s reaction to Alya.

“Well, why don’t I take Lila and then you can go with Nino.”

“Nah, it’s not a big deal. I’ll just tell Nino I already promised Lila I’d go with her.” Alya remarked, a little too quickly to sound casual.

“Seriously, Alya, I’ll just take Lila to the dance and you can go with Nino. I know how much you want to spend time with him. Plus, he’s been trying to muster the courage to ask you out for over a week now.”

There was a sigh on the other end.

“That’s not why. Look, if you want to take Lila to the dance, that’s one thing. However, you need to be upfront with Lila about your motives.”

“My motives? Alya, I just want Lila to have a good time and for you to spend time with Nino.”

“It’s not for me to say. Just talk to Lila about it okay? And think things through, Lila’s made a lot of progress and I’d hate for her to cut herself off from everyone again.”

“And while I’m talking to Lila, you better call Nino back. He’s probably trying to decipher all the mixed signals you’ve been giving him.” Marinette teased, attempting to mask the growing tension.

“Alright girl,” Alya chuckled back before hanging up.

For a moment, Marinette’s fingers hesitated over Lila’s name. This shouldn’t be hard. The message was ready to send, she just had to hit the button. She shouldn’t feel so much stress over such a simple thing. Why was Alya being so cryptic, it was like the video game tournament all over again.

While Marinette stared indecisively at the screen. Tikki decided to be the deciding factor. In a flurry of red, Tikki zoomed over Marinette’s shoulder and tapped the send button with her head.

“Tikki!” Marinette cried, startled by the kwami.

“You aren’t going to find an answer any other way.”

Marinette was interrupted before she could respond as her phone buzzed, Lila’s name flashing over the screen.

“What’s up?”

With a deep breath, Marinette began to furiously type a response.

“Nino asked Alya to go to the dance and I know she really wants to go with him. So I was wondering how would you feel if instead of Alya taking you to the dance, I took you.”

Marinette set the phone down on her desk as soon as she hit send. After a moment, she glanced at the phone’s dark screen.

Normally, Lila was quick to respond. The pause, however, left Marinette plenty of time to worry.

What if Lila really wanted to go with Alya? Maybe that was what Alya was trying to tell her.

“Uwah!” Marinette tumbled to the floor in a sprawling mess at the buzz of her phone.

While Marinette made her way back onto the chair, Tikki released a short giggle and flying over, landing next to Marinette’s phone.

The screen was dark again, leaving Marinette unable to see the message preview. Before she could hesitate anymore, Tikki slid the phone closer to Marinette. Just in time for a second buzz to light the screen up. Taking another deep breath, Marinette read the first message.

“I’d love to go the dance with you.”

Marinette expelled the breath she’d been holding a little too quickly. She felt dizzy, reading the message over again. It didn’t feel right. Why would this message take so long for her to send?

“To be completely honest with you, Marinette, I kinda have a crush on you.”

And there it was, the answer to Alya’s behavior. Even Tikki released a pleased sigh, like she’d known all along. All Marinette could do was blush a deep crimson as she quickly fumbled with her phone, doing the only thing she could think of. She called Alya.

“So, did you ask Lila yet?” Alya asked, quick to bypass friendly salutations.

“She likes me? Alya, she likes me?” Marinette repeated shock evident in her voice.

“About time you realized it.” Alya remarked, smirk evident in her voice. “Now, this isn’t about how Lila feels. Well kinda. We’re at a point where the next move is based on your feelings. How do you feel about Lila?”

There was something about the way that Alya spoke that made Marinette’s back straighten.

“I like Adrien.” Marinette replied definitively.

“This isn’t about Adrien. You know as well as anyone else that it’s possible to like more than one person.”

There was a sigh on other end of the phone as Alya paused to think.

“Look, girl, if you can tell me beyond a reasonable doubt that you have romantic feelings for Lila, then take her as your date, but if not, then I’ll take her and Nino will understand.”

“I might.” Marinette started until Alya interrupted her.

“That’s not good enough. You need to be sure. Lila’s a friend and her feelings matter.” Alya’s voice was stern. “Just ask her to give you time to process this and then give her your final answer.”

“Right,” Marinette replied softly, “I will.”

“You got this, girl.”

As soon as Alya hung up, Marinette prepared herself to type up a response to Lila.

“What are you thinking Marinette?” Tikki asked, situating herself on the edge of the desk in front of Marinette.

“I like Adrien; I don’t know how I feel about Lila.” Marinette replied, staring at the blank message on her phone.

“You once said you could see yourself liking Chat Noir if it weren’t for Adrien. What about Lila? Could you see yourself opening up to someone that isn’t Adrien?”

To stress her point, Tikki flew from the edge of the desk to hover by the images taped to the wall.  
Intermixed with various images of Adrien’s modeling, Marinette had also taped up images of Lila. Purely inspirational, of course. Especially that one shot Alya had taken during the akuma battle. Marinette had originally missed the view as Ladybug. Alya managed to catch the single moment of unexpected awe on Lila’s face when Ladybug swept in to carry her away as green paint exploded in the background.

“You have to admit, Marinette, you do have a soft spot for green eyes.” Tikki commented playfully, giving Marinette a soft smile.

Marinette opened her mouth to respond. Only to feel the all too familiar warmth of a blush spread across her cheeks. Closing her mouth, Marinette chose to avert her gaze from the kwami.

“You don’t need to come to a decision tonight.”

“Giddy.” The word came out more as a mumble when Marinette interrupted Tikki.

Tikki turned to Marinette, waiting for elaboration on the unexpected outburst. She watched Marinette’s brows furrow as Marinette worked out the thoughts in her head.

“I felt giddy when I read her texts. That’s all I’m really sure, but I’ll figure it out” Marinette couldn't help hiding her face in her hands.

Her fingers fumbled a bit as she typed out a response to Lila.

“I can’t give you a proper response right now, but I will before the dance. If you have time, would you be able to stop by tomorrow so I can fit your dress.”

Marinette waited only a moment for Lila’s confirmation before she was left alone with her own thoughts.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a curious look on her face, Tikki floated in the middle of Marinette’s room. She watched silently as Marinette rushed from one side of the room to the next. By now, Marinette had adjusted the cloth covering Lila’s dress several times. Each time she would peek under to make sure the dress was fine before smoothing the cloth back over it.

“Marinette, you need to calm down.” Tikki giggled, flying around Marinette’s head to get her attention.

“I’m just so nervous.” Marinette mumbled, eyeing the covered dress once more. “What if she doesn’t like it?”

“What if she doesn’t like what?” Lila asked, peeking her head out from the open trapdoor.

“Lila!” Marinette nearly tripped over herself.

As quickly as she could, Tikki slipped out of view and hid by Marinette’s bed. She peeked her head out carefully and released a silent sigh when she noticed Lila’s eyes glued to Marinette.

“Oh, I was expecting to see Alya when I heard you talking.” Lila finally glanced around the room, but was distracted when she caught sight of the dress.

“Nope, just me.” Marinette laughed awkwardly.

“Is this it?” Lila asked, her voice softer now.

Marinette turned to look where Lila was pointing and nodded her head. With deliberate movements, Marinette slowly made her way over to the dress. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin all her hard work by tripping into the dress. She found her palms sweating when she finally touched the cover.

“If this is going to take long, I can come back.” Lila giggled, walking over.

Lila stopped a few feet away from the dress form the second the fabric began to inch its way off the form. To Lila, it felt like an eternity, even more so than when Marinette was making her way over to the dress. Just as quickly, the cover was off and Marinette stepped aside. The dress was left standing alone, illuminated by the soft light of the sun.

“Wow.” Lila whispered, her eyes glued to the dress.

The first thing Lila noticed was the color. She’d expected an orange dress, but couldn’t deny that the soft green color looked amazing on the dress form. Marinette had removed the fake jewels that had been sewn along the sweetheart neckline and had added off the shoulder straps to the dress. Silver and gold leaves branched out from the waistline, a few dangling freely over the skirt of the dress. If anything, the dress looked like a fairytale to Lila.

“Did you want to try it on or just stare at it?” Marinette teased, releasing an anxious breath.

Lila’s eyes widened for a second.

“Are you sure you want me to wear that?” Lila asked, looking between the dress and Marinette.

Another giggle escaped Marinette lips as she carefully slipped the dress off the form. Laying over her arms, Marinette carried the dress over to Lila.

“I can walk out for a moment if you want to change alone.”

“It doesn’t bother me.” Lila remarked, “As long as you promise not to peek.”

A burning sensation rushed over Marinette’s cheeks as Lila gave her a mischievous wink.

“Of course not!” Marinette exclaimed, jumping when Lila’s hands brushed hers.

Lila whipped around to hide the playful grin on her lips. Looking down, she found herself marveling over Marinette’s hard work.

“You can go ahead and change, I’m turned around.” Marinette mumbled, fiddling with the edge of her shirt.

Lila responded with a soft hum as she sipped out of her clothes. Without any trouble, Lila pulled the dress over her head and adjusted the slip sewn in underneath. Looking down at her feet Lila noticed that Marinette had taken just enough length off the dress so that the hem barely hovered over the floor. Unable to help herself, Lila twirled in place.

“It looks amazing on you.”

Lila froze at the compliment and looked up to find Marinette staring with a pleased grin. A blush crept over Lila’s cheeks, but she stared confidently back at Marinette.

“How does it fit?” Marinette asked, walking over to Lila.

Without waiting for an answer, Marinette circled around Lila. Marinette carefully smoothed the fabric as she felt for any loose spots. She knelt down carefully and checked each of the foiled leaves, tracing them higher on the dress until she found herself standing face to face with Lila.

For a moment, they just stayed there, staring at each other.

“You give a girl a look like that and you might end up giving her the the wrong idea.” Lila blushed, being the first to break eye contact.

Marinette stepped back from Lila, her pulse just a beat faster than it had been before.

“What kind of idea?” The words came out before Marinette could think better of them.

“That you might reciprocate.”

Marinette made the mistake of looking at Lila. Marinette had expected to find her turned away, but instead, she found Lila giving her a serious look.

“I would hope so.” Marinette replied, her heartbeating faster. “Since I intend to take you as my date.”


	4. Chapter 4

Standing off to the side, Lila waited just inside the door of Le Grand Paris Hotel. She’d abandoned the idea of going any further the second she stepped into the hotel. The place was just too big for her liking.

“I’m surprised you decided to actually come, Lila.”

The remark caught Lila off guard, and she whipped her head around, expecting to find Chloe. Instead, she found Ceyla, standing with a few friends around her.

“I’m surprised you actually got my name right.” Lila retorted, turning her gaze back to the door. “If you don’t mind, I’m waiting for my date.”

“I can’t wait to see them. Assuming you’re not lying, of course.” Ceyla laughed, gaze fixed on the back of Lila’s head.

“Guess you’ll just have to wait and see.” Lila remarked dryly, “For all you know, I could have brought Ladybug as my date.”

The laugh died on Ceyla’s lips and before her friends could stop her, Ceyla made her way over to Lila. Ceyla’s hand shot out and gripped Lila by the arm.

“Don’t even lie about something like that.” Ceyla growled in Lila’s face.

“You’re just jealous that Ladybug saved me during that akuma fight. That’s all our relationship was about. You wanted to get closer to her.” Lila shot back, pulling her arm free from Ceyla’s grip.

The two were interrupted as the door to the hotel opened.

The displeasure on Lila’s face disappeared the second she caught sight of Marinette walking in with Alya. Lila was beginning to think Marinette was simply magical the way, Marinette stole her breath away.

The dress Marinette wore was a soft blue that easily matched her eyes. The hem of her dress had been altered to hang higher in the front and fall low in the back. A recommendation by Alya, no doubt, to minimize the chance of Marinette tripping. The straps of her dress were covered by a blush pink shawl.

“You look amazing.” Lila said in awe, walking over to get a better look at Marinette.

“Hey, I may not be your date, but I like compliments too!” Alya grinned playfully.

While Lila was distracted looking over Alya’s dress, Alya took the chance to eye Ceyla. There was some confusion about what had just been going on, but the sneer on Ceyla’s lips gave Alya enough of an idea. All it took was a strong look from Alya to Ceyla to get the point across and walk away; sending her back into the embrace of her friends.

“Wow, Marinette really knows what she’s doing.”

Alya turned her gaze to find Nino and Adrien walking over. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she noticed Nino’s tie. It was just the right shade of purple to match her dress. She was sure Marinette had something to do with it.

“You look nice, Marinette.” Adrien remarked, looking over Marinette’s dress.

Lila moved to intercept Adrien’s view, a glare already forming. Her movement was halted when Marinette’s warm hand slipped into hers. Marinette gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Thanks.” Marinette replied, a soft smile on her lips. “Now, if you will all excuse me, I have a date to go show off.”

Alya shot Marinette a playful wink as Marinette and Lila headed off.

“How’d you do that?” Lila finally asked when they were alone in the hallway.

Marinette hummed in response, sending a questioning look on her face. Lila tried to seem indifferent, but the look on her face gave her away.

“Talk to Adrien so calmly. You were even looking directly at him.” Lila clarified, avoiding Marinette’s look.

“I wasn’t really looking at him. I could see you from the corner of my eye.” Marinette laughed, “I might have been a little distracted.”

The confession caught Lila by surprise, and her cheeks dusted pink. Pink that intensified when she realized they were still holding hands.

Lila opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted as a scream filled the air. The two of them turned in unison towards the direction of the dance. Marinette tried to fight her instinct to run towards it and hoped it was nothing important.

“Sounds like Chloe got upset over something trivial again” Lila remarked, eyeing the doorway to the dance.

The tight squeeze of her hand led Marinette to believe Lila thought otherwise. They got their answer as the door slammed open, a stream of well-dressed students running out. Their expressions anything but calm.

“Lila!” A voice cried from within, unrecognizable to either Lila or Marinette.

Finally allowing herself to act on instinct, Marinette tugged Lila’s arm and pulled her in the opposite direction of the room. Lila looked behind them just in time to see something big and green come out of the room.

“I think it saw us.” Lila gasped when they finally stopped around a corner.

“It?”

“Big, green monster looking thing. Has to be an akuma.” Lila explained between pants.

Marinette’s eyes grew wide, and she peeked around the corner.

“I don’t see anything, but it’s clearly after you. I need to get you somewhere safe until Ladybug and Chat Noir take care of it.” Marinette replied.

Marinette’s free hand clasped her shoulder bag tighter. Unfortunately, Ladybug wouldn’t be getting here anytime soon while Marinette stayed with Lila.

“Why don’t I go hide, and you look for Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

The question caught Marinette by surprise. The serious look on Lila’s face was even more surprising.

“I’m not leaving you alone with that thing.” Marinette shot back.

“Look-” Lila was interrupted as something heavy thumped down the hallway towards them.

Marinette peeked her head out just in time to catch the green creature’s eyes staring back at her. Bright green eyes. They almost looked radioactive. The creature looked roughly like a combination between a person and a crocodile, but Marinette didn’t like the idea of comparing something so dangerous to Fang.

This time, Lila was the one to pull Marinette away as the akuma came around the corner. Narrowly dodging as the akuma swiped at them. For a moment, Marinette’s eyes lingered on the claw marks left behind on the wall. Exactly where she had just been standing.

“That was a close one.” Marinette muttered under her breath.

All too suddenly, Lila stopped dead in her tracks. Marinette looked around, eyeing the hall for any reason for the stop. Except there was nothing there. She turned her attention back to Lila as Lila began checking doors.

“I think it would be a better plan to keep running. Maybe head for a stairwell.” Marinette suggested, resting her hand on Lila’s shoulder.

Just as Marinette spoke, the door Lila was trying swung open to reveal a closet.

“This will have to do.” Lila mumbled under her breath.

Marinette strained to hear her when Lila grabbed Marinette by the arm. Without any warning, Lila swung Marinette into the closet and shut the door behind her.

“Ladybug will be here soon.” Lila called, before running back down the hall towards the akuma.

What had that been about? Why did Lila leave her alone like that? There were too many questions filling Marinette’s head all at once.

“What are you waiting for, Marinette? You need to transform!” Tikki’s sudden voice caught Marinette’s attention.

“Uh, right.” Marinette hesitated. “Tikki, transform me!”

A pink flashed filled the dark room before the door opened to reveal Ladybug.

The confused look remained on Ladybug’s face as she looked down either side of the hallway. As expected, Lila and the akuma were nowhere to be seen.

“There you are!” Chat called, sprinting down the hall to catch up with Ladybug, “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“We need to move fast, the akuma is after Lila.” Ladybug explained, already heading off in the direction the akuma had been.

“Right behind you.” Chat called.

While Ladybug’s yoyo was unable to help her move any faster, Chat was able to use his baton to push off against the walls and add to his momentum. In a matter a seconds, he was at her side. Together, they turned the corner nearly plowing into one of the dancers. Ladybug shot her arm out just in time to catch them before they went spiraling to the floor.

“Are you alright?” Ladybug asked, looking down to find Lila in her arms.

“Well, that was easy.” Chat grinned, helping Lila back on her feet.

“Thanks, Ladybug.” Lila replied, “the akuma almost had me back there.”

Ladybug scrunched her eyes together. Lila may have been acting odd when she shoved Marinette into a closet, but this was different. There was a slight blush on Lila’s cheeks, one that was usually reserved for Marinette. Looking carefully over Lila, Ladybug was caught by Lila’s stare. She didn’t remember her eyes being so bright. In fact, they didn’t look as pretty as they normally did. They weren’t the olive green she’d grown so used to seeing.

“What did you do with Lila?” Ladybug questioned, grabbing the imposter by the wrist.

The imposter’s smile faded into a sneer. The same one Marinette had noticed on Ceyla’s lips earlier.

“I don’t know what you see in her. She’s just a liar.”

The imposter broke away from Ladybug’s grip with little effort. Her body seemed to bubble and shift until Ladybug herself was standing in front of them, eyes glowing green.

“I hate to admit it, but jealousy doesn’t really suit your looks, Bugaboo.” Chat Noir smirked, looking between the two Ladybugs.

“I’m not jealous!” The fake Ladybug shouted, swinging her arm out to hit Chat Noir.

“Careful, Chat, she has a lot of strength for her size.” Ladybug explained, pushing Chat out of the way.

The fist made contact with the wall beside them and sent drywall and dust flying in its wake. The imposter turned back to the pair. Her features grew a tinted green color, a fact that both Ladybug and Chat took note of.

“We need to get in a more open area.” Ladybug whispered to Chat.

“Well Ladybug, why don’t we go for a dance in the ballroom?” Chat winked, a cheshire grin on his lips.

A smirk appeared on Ladybug lips, and she nodded in agreement. Before the imposer could free her hand, the two went running off down the halls.

They didn’t need to look back to know that they were being followed. The loud footsteps behind them gave the akuma away easily. Clearly weight and strength were not proportionate to the body the imposter was impersonating.

Chat sent his baton out just in time to open the door to the ballroom as Ladybug and Chat ran in. The pair turned and slid to a halt, waiting for the fake Ladybug to enter as the doors swung shut behind them. Much to their surprise, the akuma had transformed once more. This time, she entered as a very green looking Chloe Bourgeois.

“She can only turn into people she’s jealous of.”

The voice caught her by surprise, and Ladybug turned to find Lila huddled underneath a table. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she realized Lila was unharmed.

“Don’t look at her, look at me!” The imposter shouted, hurling a chair in Ladybug’s direction.

Before Chat could react, Lila was out from under the table and pushing Ladybug out of the way. The two landed in a tumbled mess, the chair shattering a foot away.

“What kind of hero needs a civilian to save them?” Lila remarked dryly.

While the statement was expected, Ladybug was surprised to find the usual bite missing from her words. Ladybug held Lila close as she spun back towards Chat, dodging another chair that had been hurled at them

“Guess that makes us even.” Ladybug replied, noting the conflicted look on Lila’s face.

“If I’m not interrupting anything, Bugaboo. We still need to take care of the akuma.”

Ladybug turned her attention back to Chat, who was currently twirling his baton in an effort to deflect more flying chairs. Carefully, Ladybug climbed off Lila and helped her off the ground. As expected, Lila jerked her hand back and stepped away from Ladybug.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where the akuma is hiding, would you?” Ladybug asked, looking at the imposter.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ladybug watched Lila hesitate for a moment.

“Her bracelet. It’s the only thing that’s constant between her transformations.” Lila explained, directing Ladybug’s attention to a bracelet that even she knew Chloe didn’t wear.

“Thanks, now get somewhere safe.” Ladybug gave Lila a look before moving closer to Chat.

“I heard what she said. We’re aiming for the bracelet, but I’d like a plan before I end up like one of those chairs.” Chat joked, eyeing a smashed pieces at his feet.

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug called, a flash of pink filling the air.

She held her arms out as a full-length mirror appeared in the air.

“So aside from giving her seven years of bad luck, any other plans?”

“I’ve got one.” Ladybug responded, “but I’ll need a distraction.”

Chat shot Ladybug another grin before barreling towards the imposter. Using his baton, he kept himself just out of reach by flying into the air whenever she reached for him. Ladybug on the other hand, moved carefully and slowly, wary to catch the akuma’s attention as she came closer.

“You know that old saying.” Chat called, egging the akuma. “About jealousy, of course. The one where it makes you ugly? Cuz no matter who you change into, it doesn’t really make you look any better.”

The grin on Chat’s face grew as the akuma became more enraged. It began to swing more wildly and out of the corner of its eye, caught sight of Ladybug.

With the mirror turned away from the akuma, Ladybug tensed as the akuma grabbed a table.

“Cataclysm!” Chat shouted, clawing at the table in the akuma’s grip.

In seconds, the table broke down and turned to dust. Leaving Ladybug with enough time to place the mirror in front of the akuma. A displeased sound escaped the akuma’s lips as it saw its reflection in the mirror. Distracting it long enough for Chat to slip in and grab the bracelet. He tossed the bracelet over to Ladybug, who promptly smashed it in her hands. A butterfly escaped from the bracelet, and Ladybug swung out her yoyo.

“No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!” Ladybug swung her yoyo high in the air, catching the akuma. “Bye bye little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!”

Ladybug tossed the the mirror into the air and watched as everything turned back to normal. Leaving a confused Ceyla sitting where the akuma had been.

“Pound it!” Ladybug and Chat called as they fist bumped one another.

Ladybug caught site of Lila out of the corner of her eye as Lila slipped out of the dance.

“I need to go take care of something, I’ll see you around Chat.” Ladybug called running after Lila.

“Left alone on the dance floor, how embarrassing.” Chat teased as the door shut behind her.

When Ladybug caught up with Lila, her earrings beeped.

“Lila, wait!” Ladybug called, placing her hand on Lila’s shoulder.

“I need to go find my date, I left her in a closet.” Lila shot back.

Ladybug withdrew her hand, hesitation filling her features.

“She’s bound to be wondering why I left her alone there. Talk about mixed signals.” Lila mused, walking down the hallway at an even pace.

Unsure of what to do, Ladybug continued to follow behind Lila. By the third beep, the pair stopped in front of the closet that Lila had left Marinette in previously.

“Look, I don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to apologize.” Ladybug explained, rubbing the back of her neck.

“I’m more worried about what Marinette thinks of me for throwing her into a closet.” Lila remarked, opening the closet door.

Lila peeked around inside, opening the door wider to let in more light. Unsurprisingly, Marinette was nowhere inside. Ladybug made a face as her earrings beeped for the fourth time. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, Lila grabbed Ladybug by the wrist. With a feeling of deja vu, Ladybug expected to be thrown into the closet for the second time that day. She felt Lila's grip hesitate and then before the final beep sounded in her ears, Lila pulled both of them into the dark closet. A wave of panic overcame Ladybug's features as the fifth and final beep filled her ears.

For a moment, there was a flash of pink. Marinette caught a flash of Lila's face, but not long enough to read her expression. They waited in silence for what felt like an eternity.

“I’m glad you’re ok.” Lila remarked softly.

Slowly, Lila wrapped her arms around Marinette.

“Wait, you knew?” Marinette blurted, attempting to look at Lila in the dark.

“I started putting the pieces together after hearing your transformation phrase over the the phone." Lila explained. "Next thing I knew, Ladybug swung past my hotel, and then you showed up.”

Lila took a deep breath before continuing to speak.

“Look, I may have had a little crush on Ladybug when she exposed me in front of Adrien, so I was a little more hurt than I wanted to admit. I was fine with being angry at her, it made the pain less noticeable. Unfortunately, I didn’t take falling for you into account. It would have been easy if the two of you were separate people, but then you started changing my feelings about Ladybug. No matter how much I wanted to hate you, I can’t help liking you more.”

When Lila paused, she wasn’t sure what she expected. Maybe Marinette would be angry with her. Lila knew her secret after all, she’d be a risk. After building up enough confidence, she flicked the lights on so she could look at Marinette.

“I’m sorry to hear I put you through so much,” Marinette whispered, fighting back the tears, “But aside from Alya, there aren’t many others I would trust with knowing my secret. So I'm honestly glad you were the one to find out, it's kind of a relief really.”

When the first tear streaked down Marinette’s cheek, Lila reacted by wrapping her arms tighter around Marinette. She felt the same rush of emotions overcome her, and she held Marinette closer.

“I’ve been worried up until now that if I let myself fall for you, it’d only hurt you and myself. Now that you know that I'm Ladybug, it's hard to find a reason to stop myself from acknowledging how much I like you.” Marinette smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. “So if you can really accept the burden of dating a super hero, I'd like to exit this closet with you as my girlfriend.”

"Of course." Lila laughed, a smile growing on her lips.


End file.
